There has been an unmistakeable boom in parks in Europe since the 1990s. Over a fifth of the continent is now protected using designations such as regional nature parks, national parks, UNESCO biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites. This is a direct response to climate change, the decline in biodiversity, increasing consumption of resources, urbanisation, urban sprawl and demographic change, which continue to challenge the regions of Europe. Parks are key to the protection of nature and the to the conservation of cultural landscapes, but increasingly, they promote sustainable development. The authors' experiences of tackling the challenges of regional and global change in parks is analysed and selected case studies deal with key issues of current protected area policy: How do parks address the pending challenges and what successes have they had? What arethe pioneering approaches of spatial planning and regional development? Which forms of park management and governance are most promising? This richly illustrated book also discusses which tasks will be assumed by parks in the future and what role parks may play in promoting sustainability.